Bible Studies

ONE BODY, MANY MEMBERS

by Luella Campbell
08/28/14
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ONE BODY, MANY MEMBERS

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:3-5.

It seem to me that Paul is not talking so much about pride as about competition in the church. Perhaps pride does underlie the competition that goes on between the members in many church groups; but what about insecurity? It is the insecure person who craves to be noticed so that he can receive the accolades that boost his self-esteem but, like a drug, the effect wears off after a while, and he needs another "fix" to keep going.

Since the most prominent and visible people get the accolades, he will try to climb up the pecking order by aspiring to gifts and functions which are not his. Paul warns, "Don't try to become what you are not." Not only will you not fit the function, but you will also rob the rightful person of his or her place in the body. Those who crave to be noticed by trying to fill the wrong shoes, do not understand either the mercy of God or the way the church should function.

Paul uses three images to describe the church in its relation to Jesus and to the world; a body, a building and a bride. Each image points to a specific facet of what it should be and do.

A body cannot function without a head. It is the head than controls the body, not the body the head. The head of the church is Jesus, who controls and directs His body by His Holy Spirit. Individuals in each local church are placed there by the head in order to fulfil the function of that particular body in its local setting.

"God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 1:22, 23.

A body has two primary functions; to take care of its own health and to reproduce. It can only fulfil those functions if each part does its own work efficiently. No body part can take over the function of another: an ear cannot see and an eye cannot hear. Why is it that we understand this in the natural and yet we overlook it in the spiritual? The health of the body depends on each part fulfilling its own function so that the whole body can work as a unit.

Once again, this brings us back to the nature of God - He is one in three distinct persons. His nature is reflected in the interdependence of everything in the universe. God's glory is evident when everything works together in harmony. Unity was destroyed when Adam sinned. Jesus restored the potential for unity through the cross and He will complete the restoration when He returns, bringing everything back under His headship and orchestrating the universe as one harmonious whole. That includes every person who is submitted to him.

Can you see how important it is that every member fulfil his or her function in the body regardless of how visible or invisible he happens to be? Personal ambition has no place in the body. Unity is the goal.

"So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ...From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work," Ephesians 4:11-13; 16.

Unity and maturity go hand in hand. To grow up in Christ, unlike the independence everyone in the world craves, is to become increasingly dependent on Him and on one another. Jesus said that we are to become like little children - helpless without Daddy and Mommy! When we each do our part without encroaching on someone else's function, we show the world what God is like and reveal His power that makes unity possible.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.